News You Can Use From Phil’s Stock World

Financial Markets and Economy

Wall Street Is Starting to Get Nervous About All the Money Pouring Into U.S. Stocks (Bloomberg)

After President-elect Donald Trump won the election, markets began a decisive shift in essentially all asset classes. Suddenly, everything from bank stocks to emerging-market bonds staged decisive price swings, driven by a stronger dollar, an increase in U.S. growth expectations, worries over the prospect of a more protectionist Trump-led administration and a steeper U.S. yield curve.

N.Y. Fed raises U.S. GDP growth view toward 2 percent (Reuters)

The New York Federal Reserve on Friday raised its outlook on U.S. economic growth in final quarter of 2016 and first three months of 2017 to near 2 percent following "parameter revisions" and stronger-than-forecast manufacturing data.

The US has added more jobs than the other major advanced economies combined over the past 7 years (Business Insider)

US wages in December rose at their fastest pace since mid-2009, with average hourly earnings climbing by 2.9% year-over-year. The economy also added 156,000 jobs, fewer than expected but enough to extend the record streak of job creation in the US.

Dow 20,000 Fails to Yield in Best Week for U.S. Stocks in Month (Bloomberg)

Yet again, investors watched the Dow Industrial Average stop just short of the 20,000 level, even as U.S. equities resumed their post-election rally with the best week of gains in a month.

Where are they now? The 12 members of the 1896 Dow Jones industrial average (Business Insider)

When the Dow Jones industrial average was created in 1896, it had about a dozen industrial stocks.

Apple's addition to the current list of 30 American conglomerates, in March 2015, showed just how far the index has come.

Emerging-Market Stocks, Currencies Decline Amid Fed Hike Bets (Bloomberg)

Emerging-market currencies and stocks trimmed their weekly gains after data showing a stronger U.S. labor market bolstered the case for higher interest rates that could dim the appeal of assets in developing nations.

El-Erian Says Market Should Worry About Dollar Being Too Strong (Bloomberg)

Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz SE’s chief economic adviser, said investors shouldn’t overlook risks tied to the strengthening U.S. currency.

U.K.’s Post-Brexit Ties to EU Narrow: Five Likely Outcomes (The Wall Street Journal)

The U.K.’s aims in its negotiations with the European Union over Brexit remain a mystery, as Ivan Rogers made clear when he quit this week as British ambassador to the bloc.

Americans See Enduring Wage Gains as Labor Market Tightens (Bloomberg)

After six straight years of annual job gains topping 2 million, America’s labor market is as tight as ever, and it’s entering the next phase: an enduring pickup in wages.

Port Authority Backs Funding for Long-Stalled Hudson Tunnel (Bloomberg)

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey proposed a $32 billion capital plan for the next decade that includes $2.7 billion to build a tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitate the century-old one damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

Neiman Marcus is pulling its IPO (Business Insider)

The luxury retailer Neiman Marcus has requested to withdraw its initial public offering.

The company, which filed for its flotation in August 2015, said in a statement Friday it had "determined that it is not in its best interests to proceed with the initial public offering."

Of The 1%, By The 1%, For The 1% (Vanity Fair Hive)

Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few. Yet in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation’s income—an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret.

S&P 500: More Room To Run In 2017 Or Exhaustion Just Around The Corner? (Value Walk)

The S&P 500 had a bumpy ride in 2016, to say the least, from the lows under 2,000 early in the year to the roaring highs toward the end of the year, and everywhere in between. Now the index is closing in on 2,300, and some analysts are starting to turn into pessimists where U.S. equities are concerned.

Not One, But Two X-Factors Just Broke In Global Coal Markets (Value Walk)

Two events this week should lend strength to that market. With one consuming nation seeing a massive and unexpected leap in demand — while another coal-producing country saw major restrictions placed on its exports.

Factory Orders Plunge 2.4% Taking Away Most of Last Month’s Rise (MishTalk)

The Commerce Department full report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders shows new orders plunged 2.4% in November after rising 2.8% in October. Shipments, which feed into GDP estimates fell 0.1%. For the year, new orders are down 1.8%.

Trump`s Voodoo Economics (Video) (EconMatters)

We delve into the finer details of Trump`s economic plan to get a substantive view on its effects for spurring true economic growth and it is severally lacking, and in fact only going to exacerbate the out of control National Debt and Budget Deficit Issues.

Dow Fails To Hit 20k Despite Slamming VIX To 10-Handle (Zero Hedge)

US Oil Rig Count Rises To 1 Year Highs (Zero Hedge)

US oil rig counts have now risen for 30 of th elast 32 weeks (up 4 to 529 today) – the highest in a year.

U.S. Consumers Set Nine-Year High for December Spending (Gallup)

Americans' annual end-of-the-year holiday shopping spree boosted Gallup's daily measure of consumer spending to the highest average for any December since Gallup began tracking spending in 2008.

Companies

The Limited to Close Stores Across the Country (Racked)

Media outlets in Ohio, North Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, Florida, and Wisconsin are reporting that their local Limited stores will be closing on January 7th, often with “everything must go” and “all sales final” sales. Today, Racked also received a tip that all stores will indeed be closing on that date.

Ford Sees Trump Delivering Tax Reform to Help U.S. Manufacturers (Bloomberg)

Ford Motor Co., fresh from canceling a Mexico factory Donald Trump criticized, expects the incoming president to deliver on promises of tax reform that will benefit U.S. manufacturers.

Technology

Can IBM's Watson Do It All? (Fast Company)

From winning Jeopardy in 2011 to helping write a sad song last year, IBM's Watson cognitive computing platform is all over popular culture. Press releases fly out about Watson producing a movie trailer, powering a Macy's shopping app, even controlling lights on an internet-connected dress—along with more serious applications like working on cancer treatments.

In Search of the Future at CES 2017 (The Wall Street Journal)

The future of our personal technology isn’t a “smart” hairbrush that says you are a failure of a hair brusher. It definitely isn’t a bathing suit that connects to your smartphone to say you’re getting a sunburn. And it probably isn’t a printer that prints sticky notes.

Politics

Trump won't give grace period to Obama's ambassadors (Politico)

In an unusual step, President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has decided not to let U.S. ambassadors who are political appointees of President Barack Obama stay on for a grace period beyond Inauguration Day, a source confirmed Thursday.

‘Political witch hunt’: Trump isn’t backing off his Russia hacking doubts, no matter the evidence (The Washington Post)

President-elect Donald Trump gets a long-awaited intelligence briefing on Russia's alleged hacking to influence the 2016 election on Friday. And his top spokesman assured us that Trump will go into it with an open mind — despite a string of Trump tweets that included a litany of complaints about the hacking investigation and its conclusions.

Robert Reich's 8-Point Plan for a New Democratic Party (Rolling Stone)

During the 2016 primary, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich was an outspoken supporter of Bernie Sanders. When he threw his weight behind Hillary Clinton's bid in the general election, he did so while also calling for the formation of a new progressive party to take up Sanders' cause after the election.

Trump slams media on border wall: Mexico will pay us back (Politico)

From the very beginning of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised that he would build a wall along America’s southern border with Mexico and that the Mexican government, not U.S. taxpayers would pay for it.

As any grade-schooler who’s studied the Constitution can tell you, the United States Senate is an abysmally unrepresentative body. California, the largest state, has 66 times the population of Wyoming, our smallest, yet both are entitled to the same number of senators: two.

President Barack Obama Slams ‘Repeal And Delay’ Approach To Affordable Care Act (The Huffington Post)

President Barack Obama is on a roll when it comes to publishing journal articles. A day after his epic 56-page article on criminal justice reform for Harvard Law Review dropped, the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine published his short essay about the perils of the GOP’s plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, without providing a replacement.

Hundreds Of US Tanks Arrive In Europe To Support NATO Anti-Russian Buildup (Zero Hedge)

As we reported yesterday, Lithuania confirmed the presence of U.S. special forces inside its territory, stating the deployment’s purpose is to train local forces and act as a deterrent against Russian aggression.

Health and Biotech

Researchers have created an antibiotic spider silk that heals wounds (Science Alert)

After five years of work, scientists in the UK have found a way to create synthetic spider silk that's loaded with antibiotic properties, and could help deliver drugs and close open wounds with a decreased risk of infection.

Hair Cells Could Heal Skin Sans Scars (Scientific American)

Hair follicles appear to be key in reprogramming other cells in the wound, restoring the original skin architecture, instead of simply scarring. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Life on the Home Planet

Brazil gang kills 31, many hacked to death, as prison violence explodes (Reuters)

Jailed members of Brazil's most powerful drug gang killed 31 inmates at a penitentiary on Friday, decapitating and cutting out the hearts of most of them, in revenge for a separate prison massacre that left 56 dead this week.

Gunman kills 5 at Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, shooter in custody (CNBC)

A shooter opened fire at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida earlier on Friday, killing five people and wounding multiple others, law enforcement officials said.

The unprecedented drop in global sea ice, in one terrifying gif (Think Progress)

Arctic sea ice area and volume have collapsed in recent decades. And the North Pole has been freakishly warm this winter, as carbon pollution has made what would have been once-in-1,000-years heatwaves increasingly commonplace.

That global warming 'hiatus' never actually happened, study confirms (Science Alert)

The so-called global warming hiatus this century never actually happened, a new study has found, showing new evidence that the misperception of a 'slowdown' in the heating of Earth's oceans was due to a flawed interpretation of temperature data.

A tiny brain, skull, and hair have been extracted from a teen's ovary (Science Alert)

What started as a fairly routine operation resulted in a 10-centimetre ‘monster’ being pulled from the teenager’s abdomen, according to a paper recently published in Neuropathology.

Why Is The Smog In China So Bad? (Popular Science)

Earlier this week, a thick layer of smog rolled into China’s capital city, turning skyscrapers into shadows and clear air into a yellow fog. Caught on a time lapse by Chas Pope, the smog rolls in like a dust storm in a desert, billowing into the streets of Beijing.